A post that compares the LPG gas cylinder prices from 2011 to 2021 and the essential commodities prices between 2014 and 2021 is being shared on social media. This post claims that the prices of essential commodities in 2014 are much higher when compared to the prices in 2021. Let’s verify the claim made in the post.
Claim: The prices of essentials commodities in 2014 are much higher when compared to the prices in 2021.
Fact: The 2014 prices of essential commodities mentioned in the post are much higher than the actual prices reported on the Department of Consumer Affairs website. The essential commodities prices in 2014 are not higher as mentioned in this post. For example in 2014, a kg of Moong Dal cost 97.26 rupees. But, it is mentioned as 180 rupees in the post. Similarly, a kg Urad Dal cost 79 rupees in 2014 but is mentioned as 179 rupees. When compared to the essential commodities prices in 2014, the prices are higher in 2021. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
The price Monitoring Division (PMD) in the Department of Consumer Affairs is responsible for monitoring the prices of select essential commodities. The Department of Consumer Affairs monitors the retail and wholesale prices of 22 essential commodities (which includes rice, sugar, oil, and others) from 115 centres across the country. We calculated the all-India average of month-end prices on essential commodities as reported by the Department of Consumer Affairs website. The details of our findings shown in the table below.
The 2021 essential commodities prices mentioned in the post are almost close to the actual prices. But the 2014 essential commodities prices in the post vary from the actual prices by a great amount. According to the Department of Consumer Affairs, Moong Dal’s cost is 97.26 rupees per Kg in 2014. But, it is mentioned as 180 rupees in the post. Similarly, a kg Urad dal cost 79 rupees in 2014 which is mentioned as 179 rupees. A kg of Tur dal cost 75.83 rupees in 2014 but is mentioned as 210 rupees in this post. The difference in the essential commodities prices between 2014 and 2021 is shown in the table below. From all these, it can be concluded that the 2014 essential commodities prices mentioned in the post are much higher compared to the actual prices.
The prices of essential commodities depend on the inflation rate in the respective years. In the post, Urad Dal and Tur Dal are the only essential commodities that have witnessed an annual increase in their prices from 2014 to 2021. The price increase is minimal for the remaining essential commodities. For example, the Urad Dal price in 2014 is 79.09 rupees per Kg which increased to 108.96 rupees in 2021. Similarly, the 75.83 rupees per Kg cost of Tur Dal in 2014 increased to 104.96 rupees in 2021. From all these, it can be understood that the prices of essential commodities in 2021 are higher compared to the prices in 2014.
The claim about the LPG gas cylinder prices was already debunked by FACTLY. The fact-check article published on it can be seen here.
To sum it up, 2014 prices of essential commodities listed in this post are much higher compared to the actual prices as reported by the Department of Consumer Affairs.
